We’re one week on from Shortcut to the Top, and we’ve got the last minute preparation for this week’s 20th Anniversary show as Jurn Simmons warms up for his title shot.
Quick Results
Robert Dreissker pinned Gulyas Junior in 3:21 (**¼)
Leon van Gasteren & Tim Stübing pinned Norman Harras & Bobby Gunns in 6:46 (**¾)
Jurn Simmons pinned Peter Tihanyi in 2:28 (**)
Delia & Iva Kolasky submitted Nicky Foxley & Tayra Gates 6:10 (**¼)
Nikita Charisma pinned Levaniel in 6:10 (**½)
Fast Time Moodo pinned Dennis Dullnig in 10:28 (***½)
Marius al-Ani submitted Senza Volto in 11:13 (***½)
So wXw’s unveiled their autumn release schedule for wXw NOW – we’ve got two more We Love Wrestling events (this one, and one next week), before the 20th Anniversary show that’s being held tomorrow gets released on August 20.
We’re back at the Steffy in Oberhausen, with Dave Bradshaw on English commentary, recapping last week’s Shortcut to the Top.
Backstage, Dan Mallman’s with Robert Dreissker, addressing last week’s tag title loss… he looks at the positives, particularly Anil Marik’s progression while being champion. They flash up a graphic for the rematch at the anniversary show this weekend… then quickly change the subject to Feyyaz Aguila’s debut last week. Dreissker seemed upset at how the office allowed him to debut without his sign-off, and aimed a shot at Felix Kohlenberg over the situation. Finally, they talk about Dreissker’s opponent today, whom Dreissker saw a lot of his younger self in. What, with the armpits too?
Robert Dreissker vs. Gulyas Junior
During Shortcut to the Top, Gulyas gave Dreissker a Nasty Boys-ish Pit Stop. He may not be long for this world.
Dreissker dominates early, knocking Gulyas into the ropes, but a missed splash from Dreissker allowed Gulyas to hit a back senton. A shoulder block and a big splash gets Dreissker back in it for a two-count, as he then grounded Gulyas with a chinlock, but the Hungarian fought out and eventually landed a crossbody for a near-fall. A grounded Pit Stop sickens Dreissker, before he monster’d up from some chops… finding his way in for a ripcord lariat. He followed up with a splash into the corner, before a fallaway slam and a Dreissker Bomb for the win. A short squash, but Gulyas was completely shut out here. **¼
Another Shortcut to the Top recap, this time of the interactions between Bobby Gunns, Norman Harras and Prince Ahura as things quickly went sour… before Gunns ended up being the last man out, losing to Jurn Simmons.
Backstage, Dan’s with Gunns and Harras. He praises Gunns’ long run in the Shortcut to the Top, somehow lasting over an hour (don’t check the match times…). Norman’s guzzling water as he continues to look simultaneously dishevelled but swanky in that ring jacket. He mutters about a “little bastard” (Hornswoggle?!) before Dan brought up the lottery, which just distracted Norman again.
Bobby Gunns & Norman Harras vs. Leon van Gasteren & Tim Stübing
Needless to say, Norman didn’t seem to be on his game again here.
We’ve a jump start from Gunns and Harras, chucking van Gasteren to the outside as the pair looked to double-team Stübing to start. It backfires, as Stübing cracks Harras with a dropkick in the corner, before a double dropkick took Gunns and Harras onto the apron. Van Gasteren joins in for a third dropkick, while Gunns slapped Harras on the outside…
Back inside, a side headlock from Harras has Stübing down, before Gunns blind-tagged in and charged down Stübing with a clothesline. Body blows leave Stübing down, while a half crab bent Tiny Tim in half. Harras is back to go for a Boston crab, but Stübing blocked it… only to get punched out as an armbar kept Tim down again. An attempted double-team backfires as Stübing shoved Harras into Gunns, before van Gasteren tagged in to clear house. There’s a clothesline to take Harras outside, before van Gasteren’s headscissors and a death valley driver had Gunns down. Stübing returns to help with a double-team flapjack that nearly wins it… with Harras bumbling in to make the save.
Norman’s chucked outside, but that distraction allowed Gunns to hit a rear naked choke, then a German suplex to Stübing. Harras tags back in to land uppercuts and clotheslines on Stübing, before a gutwrench powerbomb attempt was escaped by Stübing… who then set up for a crane kick, decking Harras int he process. Gunns drops off the apron in disbelief as van Gasteren and Stübing combined for a dropkick-assisted facebuster, and that’s enough for the win. Gunns pulls Harras out of the ring after the match, as the focus was on his disappointment as much as the winning team’s result. **¾
Post-match, Andy Jackson interviews Leon and Tim… noting they beat former singles champions. Leon said that the team of “Tiny Tim and Leon” is no more, because they’re now officially partners, dubbing themselves the Hannover Hurricanes. Stand back.
Promo for the Catch Grand Prix next month – Dennis Dullnig, Fast Time Moodo, Bobby Gunns and Akira Francesco are confirmed for the tournament.
Backstage, Dan’s with Jurn Simmons, who notes it’s been a year since he was in wXw, and he’s back to fulfil a promise to beat the tar out of Marius al-Ani.
Peter Tihanyi vs. Jurn Simmons
Poor Peter…
Tihanyi’s shoved into the corner, but Jurn lets him walk back out. He’s nice like that. Tihanyi goes for a waistlock, but Jurn throws him free, before Tihanyi grabbed a side headlock, then hit some dropkicks to take Jurn into the corner. A running double knees squashes Simmons, who’s then caught with a triangle armbar… but Jurn powerbombs his way free. Simmons’ clothesline drops Tihanyi next, before Jurn picked up the Hungarian… and left him shell shocked. All that’s left is a spear, before the Massive Piledriver planted Tihanyi for the win. Thanks for coming, Peter… **
Andy collars Jurn after the match, but Jurn just takes the mic and tells Marius he’ll be the one left laying after their match for the title.
Backstage, Dan’s with Tayra Gates and Nicky Foxley. Foxley’s noted they both beat Delia, but they’ve both lost to Iva Kolasky… while Dan brings up their past as a tag team elsewhere in Germany…
Nicky Foxley & Tayra Gates vs. Delia & Iva Kolasky
With live shows returning, you do wonder what the status will be of the women’s title – currently held by Amale…
Gates starts with a lock-up, as commentary notes this is the first all-women’s tag match in wXw in aeons. Of course, I hit pause to look it up, and it wasn’t *that* long ago – the first ever We Love Wrestling event, in fact, from 16 Carat Gold weekend last year: Killer Kelly & Stephanie Maze vs. Baby Allison & Valkyrie. Gates’ forearm took Kolasky into the ropes, before Kolasky flipped over Gates, then went for a handspring back elbow into the corner. A crossbody out of the corner follows for a two-count, before tags brought in Foxley and Delia – that move being strategic… but Delia manages to pull ahead with a double knee drop, then a low dropkick for a near-fall on Foxley.
Foxley responded with an armbar as she brought Gates back in, with Tayra wrapping Delia’s arm around the rope ahead of a double knees to the back. Another tag brings Foxley back in as Delia was in the ropes, before a kick to the back and a diving uppercut added another two-count. A lucha roll-up from Delia nearly nicks the win, but she’s quickly swarmed and taken into the corner again as running double knees from Gates left her prone. Foxley’s back to trip Delia into Gates’ knee for another near-fall, before Delia landed a kick that got her enough time to tag out.
Kolasky throws chops and elbows, but misses a charge into the corner… recovering to hit a suplex for a near-fall, before Kolasky went up to hit a moonsault. Delia’d tagged in though, and she locks in a Muta lock for the submission on Foxley – with the French native getting her first win. A decent enough tag match, with Gates and Foxley looking the better pairing despite defeat. **¼
Post-match, we’ve the Andy Jackson interview… he noted how different Gates and Foxley were as a team, but Delia said that they took their chance to get the win and got it.
They recap how Levaniel lost to Michael Schenkenberg two weeks ago on We Love Wrestling 18… and here’s the natural follow-up!
Levaniel vs. Nikita Charisma
I have a feeling Levaniel may be facing distractions again tonight…
Charisma mocks Levaniel’s entrance spiel, telling us the “golden galaxy doesn’t really exist,” while giving away Levaniel’s hometown. Nikita took credit for the Arrows and Jurn’s wins at Shortcut to the Top, thinking there’ll be similar success for Levaniel too? Levaniel charges at Charisma at the bell, but Nikita just heads into the ropes. Back inside, a side headlock on Levaniel’s pushed away, with a low dropkick following as Charisma looked to push on. Schenkenberg pulls Levaniel off the apron as the shortcuts kept coming, before Charisma misses as springboard back in.
Levaniel throws Charisma onto the apron, only to get caught with a spear back into the ring from the Russian for a two-count. Stomps and elbows lead to a chinlock from Charisma, before a second spear into the ring’s countered into a butterfly suplex. A dropkick from Levaniel misses, allowing Charisma to counter with a half crab… but Levaniel resists and almost grabbed the win with an inside cradle. Knees to the midsection from Levaniel earns him a dropkick, but Charisma’s second one is countered into a slingshot to the corner, before a slam dropped Charisma. From there, uppercuts and a backbreaker have Charisma on the back foot, leading to a diving boot for a two-count, prompting Michael Schenkenberg to get up onto the apron.
In almost a repeat of two weeks ago, Charisma rolls up Levaniel, but doesn’t get the win, as Levaniel kicks out and went for a clothesline… but another distraction pays off as Charisma rolled up Levaniel, and grabbed the bottom rope to make sure he got the win. Levaniel’s look goes from bad to worse as he again loses via distractions… so much for the Rott und Flott guide to success! **½
Post-match, Levaniel interrupts the traditional interview and accused the bloodied Charisma of cheating. It’s leading to a challenge of a tag match, with Jurn Simmons coming out to offer back-up for what could be a wacky buddy cop movie. Or a tag team. Let’s go with that.
They replay the double count-out between Fast Time Moodo and Dennis Dullnig two weeks ago… then we go to an interview backstage with Dullnig, who branded Fast Time Moodo a “scumbag” before nitpicking some not-clean breaks in their match.
Dennis Dullnig vs. Fast Time Moodo
There’s no stipulations here, so this could easily be another double count-out…
Dullnig tries to distract Moodo for a jump start, but to no avail… when we get going, Moodo makes Dullnig back into the corner with some kicks, forcing Dullnig to the outside. The breather’s cut short when Moodo chased after him, before they traded elbows in the ring before a scissors kick caught Dullnig off guard.
A running spinning heel kick caught Dullnig in the corner, as Moodo then set up for a Coast to Coast, which misses as Dullnig rolled away in time. Punches and stomps on the mat wear down Moodo, as did a chinlock, but Moodo escaped… and got kneed in the gut. He’s roughed up on the mat for a two-count, before Moodo returned with some kicks… only for Dullnig to hit a facebuster for a near-fall.
A roundhouse in the corner keeps Dullnig ahead, but Moodo trips him and tied up the leg with his own feet, forcing Dullnig to roll to the ropes for a break. Moodo keeps going with a spinning heel kick off the middle rope for another two-count, before he grounded Dullnig again. More strikes just have a ragdoll-like Dullnig flop to the mat, but he’s back with a knee and a German suplex for a near-fall, before a rear spin kick from Moodo had Dullnig back in the corner. More kicks lead to the sliding punch, then a flying stomp for a near-fall, before Dullnig managed to counter back with a powerbomb out of nothing.
Problem was, Moodo grabbed a triangle armbar after the impact, forcing Dullnig to scramble free. He’s back with a running knee, but a gutwrench piledriver’s escaped as Moodo busts out some mid kicks, following up with a pumphandle driver for a near-fall, only for Dullnig to swing for the fences. He punches out Moodo, but the exchange of heavy strikes ends in a heartbeat, as Moodo’s Black Belt Kick caught Dullnig on the back of the head for the pin. Nice and competitive, this didn’t have the tempers boiling over like two weeks ago, as Moodo adds another performance to the long list that’s gotten some calling him the MVP of wXw in 2021. ***½
Hey, they subtitled the Conversations trailer with Absolute Andy!
They recap the story so far with Feyyaz Aguila and Vincent Heisenberg, which leads to an interview with Christian Bischof and Feyyaz. He notes how Heisenberg is “hunting” him, but it’s almost like Feyyaz is a little guilty as he doesn’t want to run anymore… and accepts whatever challenge Heisenberg throws his way. Robert Dreissker interrupts as he’s still salty about Feyyaz “graduating” without his say so. Dreissker says he doesn’t think Aguila’s ready to compete in wXw yet, and especially not against Heisenberg, before warning Aguila to show up to training, rather than this show next week…
We’re told that next week, we’ll have Levaniel & Jurn Simmons vs. Rott und Flott… plus Feyyaz Aguila vs. Vincent Heisenberg.
They then recap Tristan Archer’s loss to al-Ani last week, which bled into an interview with Senza Volto backstage. Senza’s a little salty that Andy hasn’t been in contact with him, before talk turned to Shortcut to the Top. Senza obvious would rather have won than finished in the top four, but he’s relishing the challenge to avoid being another notch on Marius al-Ani’s winning streak.
Meanwhile, Dan’s with Marius, who was perhaps sad not to have had fans on hand for his win last week. He’s also a little sad Feyyaz isn’t around to carry his trophy these days, before talk turned to Jurn Simmons, whom Marius again took a dig at, saying he’s really just the number two.
Senza Volto vs. Marius al-Ani
Last time these two met, Marius blitzed an injured Senza in under five minutes at the Catch Grand Prix…
Senza tried to go for a waistlock, but gets taken down into the ropes by al-Ani early on, before an overhead wristlock from al-Ani led to a headlock takedown and an escape by Senza. Marius kips up out of the headscissors, then charged at Senza in the ropes. He’s met with a Manhattan drop and a chop though, before Senza blocked a hiptoss and ducked down to slap Marius on the mat. The champion snaps back with punches, before a clothesline was floated over as the champion ended up getting sent outside with a springboard ‘rana. Rolling back into the ring, Marius puts the boots to Senza as he was taking a breather in the corner, before an Irish whip bounced the Frenchman into the buckles.
al-Ani kicks out the hands as Senza went for a handspring, but it only gets him a two-count as Marius then looked to ground Senza again. A side headlock does the job, before Senza pushed free… and ate a shoulder block, so Marius grounds Senza with another chinlock. The ropes save Volto, who rolls outside, forcing Marius to chase… but the plan goes awry as Marius caught him with an ankle lock, forcing Senza to push free again, taking al-Ani outside for a tope. Second time’s the charm for a handspring back elbow from Senza back inside, before a 619 in the corner and a Code Red nailed Marius for a near-fall. Senza can’t quite follow up though, as his Eiffel Tower’s countered into a rear naked choke, but Senza rolls back on himself to pick up a two-count.
After the kickout, Marius charges with a clothesline, before a sunset flip, kip-up and Exploder chucks Senza across the ring, with a splash following in the corner. A Superman punch has Senza on the mat for a delayed two-count, but Senza countered out of a Diamond Driver… only to get caught with a spinning heel kick. A powerbomb’s blocked as well, as Volto manages to come back with a Spanish Fly for a two-count… then a springboard moonsault for another near-fall… before al-Ani rolled through an inside cradle and powerbombed Senza Volto for a two-count. A diving punch is next, then it’s back to the ankle lock as Marius pulled Senza’s arm from the ropes to force the stoppage. Senza didn’t quite get the win he wanted, but it was a valiant performance against a juggernaut of a champion here. ***½
We close out with the post-match interview, and then a promo that recounted every single one of al-Ani’s wins to date, all the way through to his current 28-0… and then it’s a jump to Jurn Simmons’ shock return as he booked his spot in the title match this weekend.
This was a solid show from wXw as they prepared for the 20th Anniversary show that takes place this weekend – but won’t air for another fortnight on-demand. We’re creeping back towards normality, and these We Love Wrestling shows, while they may have gone under a lot of radars, have set the proverbial table well for the return.